the 2013 session just started but lawmakers already trying to squeeze every penny out of you. why paying for transportation projects hear in maryland could be costing you more at the pump. $7.6 million, that's how much organizations in the state are getting to help struggling homeowners. we're going to tell you from where the money is coming. the countdown is season. we are just two days a-- on. we are just two days away from destination denver. why the players not at all considered about the air up there. we'll tell you all about that on this thursday, january 10th. "good morning maryland," i'm charlie crowson. >> and i'm megan pringle, thank you for joining us. they may want to consider that that altitude can be tough to adjust to. >> i mean they're going up a mile it is a mile-high city. but a little closer to home

how's the weather here in? >> let's find out over to meteorologist lynette charles. >> we have a different start than yesterday. 41 should be the high temperature now for this time of the year and we have a mild start this morning. i'm going to say cooler conditions and it will stick around even into afternoon and ohm metsburg at 41. annapolis at 45 degrees. this morning. the winds will be out of the north and east and west. a little bit of a variable wind for today. maryland's most powerful radar is dry right now. we have high pressure building in as we go through today. so we will get some sunshine out there. mixing with the cloud cover as well. this is what you can expect by lunchtime. that temperature at 49 degrees. let's get a check now of the abc2 timesaver traffic with lauren cook. good morning. good morning lynette. unfortunately we do start off the day with a crash in howard county. it's in ellicott city at route 99. on 95 no delays whatsoever. just 12 minutes from elkridge

to downtown baltimore. if you are using the beltway no problems on the west side over to parkville a live look right now at harford road, everything up to speed. no problems getting up to towson and 83 and hunt valley also nice and clear from shawan road all the way down to the beltway. megan and charlie, over to you. the 2013 legislative session is now officially open and already, the talk is about how to fund transportation projects in the state. >> lawmakers want to turn to you for that money with proposal that would have you paying more at pumps. now some form of gas tax increase is being considered. but even legislators who supported increase admit this is not a popular idea. republicans in annapolis say the majority of democrats should not expect them to accept or go along with these tax increases. >> what we need to do is to start spending the transportation dollars on the things that they were allotted forked if we -- for. if we do that we don't need to

raise any taxes. >> obviously something has to be done at some point. >> legislators say it is testoon to determine what a -- too soon to determine what a gas tax proposal may look like. also gun control is expected to be a controversial issue at this year's session. lawmakers in annapolis are already taking aim at getting gun legislation passed. yesterday several bills were turned in with hopes of getting a handle on gun violence. the gun bills introduced last year didn't have enough support to pass and gun violence isn't just a local concern. the white house minted that the had the -- hinted that the president may issue a gun control order. vice president joe biden is also meeting with groups to talk about the issue. students at one area high school have dealt with more loss than any teenager should ever have to deal with. in less than two years ten students were recent graduates from mead high school passed away and say the community will come together to remember the lives lost. a memorial will take place

later this afternoon in the high school auditorium at the end of the ceremony, everyone will head out to the football field to release balloons in honor of those lives. in december alone two students were killed after being hit by cars in separate incidents. well, bge gets its way it may soon cost you more to stay warm in the cold winter months. they are asking to raise rates on gas and electric bills. if commission wants to hear your thoughts. this is video from last year's public hearing. they're holding another meeting coming up tonight 7:00 at the university. if that rate hike is approved it would cost you about $10 more a month for gas and electric utilities. bge says the cost of raw materials is getting more and more expensive. the company said this -- last time this happened was in 2007. it's the state of our economy owning a home has become more difficult for so many people but soon those of

you in the red could actually get much-needed help. today six legal aid organizations that serve homeowners in baltimore will be getting $7 million to help the programs. this morning, these signs will be -- funds will be used to expand legal representation and related services to people who are facing foreclosure or just struggling to pay the loan. more than half of the money is coming from the $26 billion national mortgage settlement with the nation's five largest lendors. this morning investigators are trying to figure out what caused a row house fire that spread to multiple europes. it broke -- multiple units. it broke out last night. when firefighters arrived they were met with smoke and heavy flames in the back of the building. luckily everyone was able to get out safely. there's still a lot of questions surrounding a deadly crash that killed two highway workers in cecil county. people are still trying to figure out what led to the crash. authorities say when the investigation is complete,

they'll decide whether to file any charge against the driver whose name has not been released. that crash happened early yesterday in northeast maryland and state police there say that the men working on route 40 were doing their jobs when a car drove into a work zone and hit them. the 42-year-old man named luis tadeo from bowie and a 41-year- old man named victor jackson of washington died at the scene. one more day in charm city before the ravens head out to the mile-high city. tomorrow, the ravens leave for denver. they're going to be traveling out west 24 hours before the game to give to players time to -- the players time to adjust to the altitude change but the team is not worried about the weather in denver. number 52 says -- >> it's not life or death man. just going out there playing in a different climate you know what whatever it is. whether they think they're acclimated to it opt. and the coach didn't make an issue we're not going to make it an issue. >> got the keep it simple.

one of the last times we see ray lewis suit up. the star linebacker is retiring at the end of the yore. if you want to join the ravens out west you still have time to buy travel packages and west. the group be more round town is organizing a trip to denver and you have until noon today to purchase the packages for that. that includes tickets, hotel rooms and airfare. the fans are leaving tomorrow and we are going to see them off. so we are going to be live here on "good morning maryland" starting at 4:30 in the morning so we hope you join us on friday. the entire city the getting in the playoff spirit. and getting ready to say farewell to the original ravens. now as the city prepares to say good-bye to ray lewis, you could say hello to a new pet. the maryland spca is offering discounts optioned. on friday and saturday the price for all large dogs will be reduced from $125 to $52. the shelter is on falls road and it's all decked out in

purple and the doggies yeah, they are wearing the ravens' bandannas. and here at abc2 we are also showing off our purple pride and we are very excited about the ravens' playoff run. and as you are. so join us tomorrow night for a one hour special "destination denver." we're going to be live with fans in white marsh and jamie costello is going to be live from the mile city high. a check to have forecast here leekly but lynette is -- locally but lynette is it too soon to look at the forecast in denver? >> you read my mind. let's talk about what's going on because we can see some showers and possibly some severe weather down to the south around the gulf coast states. we see heavy rain now coming in around louisiana. but back towards denver, things are beginning to take shape a little bit. so let me though you that forecast -- show thaw forecast into time here. we are going to be looking at some very cold temperatures mostly cloudy skies as we head into saturday. it's going to be cold. it's 19-degrees and we do have the chance for some snow across

the area there. for today, though, temperatures are not cold this morning. we're coming in in the 40s. these are where the high temperatures should be. kent island is right around 45 degrees. i'm going to give you the full breakdown of what you can expect as we go throughout the day and the weekend. let's send this back over to you. from sneezing to coughing the flu season is rampant across the u.s. >> coming up how easy to get sick and what you can do to prevent the germs from spreading. >> plus, we spend much more on health care than any other country. so why are americans always getting sicker? >> plus, some kids have to be in class as early as 7:15. we're going to tell you why parents in one school district say that all needs to change. >> all right, let's get a check of the roads with lauren cook. >> charlie we are dealing with a crash right now on 83. just north of shawan road. another serious crash in ellicott city has shut down maryland 99. i'll have all the details coming up on "good morning maryland." >> and you are taking a live

look at downtown baltimore. go ravens. stay with us, much more coming up.

well, you've probably heard it by now. this is one of the worst flu seasons we have seen in a decade. >> an aggressive strain is now making thousands of people sick and close to two dozen children already died. >> abc news health reporter linda so gins us now with -- joins us now with details. >> reporter: the flu is highly contagious, just cough or sneeze for the virus to spread. here's the top three ways you can usually catch the flu. simply being near someone who's sick who sneezes, coughs or talks. spreading those infected droplets. also drinking from the same cup or sharing utensil. and touching is jeremy surface and then -- a germy surface and then touching your eye or mute. and you can pass the -- mouth. and you can pass the virus to someone before you even know you're sick. >> somebody can be contagious

with influenza up to a day prior to developing symptoms. sometimes typically sneezing and coughing and so on. and up to seven days post- development of the symptoms. so the flu virus can be fairly contagious over a long period of time. >> reporter: and even though we're already into the flu season, it's not too late to get your shot. doctors say the best way to protect yourself against this year's aggressive strain is to get that shot. also wash your hands often. stay home if you're sick. and using cleaning products to get rid of germs to minimize the risk can also help. linda so, abc2 news. health officials say this flu season could be the worst in years. and we are working for you here at abc2. giving you the most up-to-date information to stay healthy throughout the season. just head to the flu page on our website. abc2news.com. there you can find the tips you need to know. that's at abc2news.com/flu. well, we may be the land of the free but it turns out -- we're not really land of the healthy. americans right now getting

sicker even dying younger than the international peers out there. that is according to a new report out by the national research counsel. the group found that life expectancies in the u.s. are lagging behind 27 other high income countries. this despite the fact we pay more per person on health care than any other country. researchers say americans know what's good for them, we just don't act on it. but that's not the case for one maryland woman. brooke greenberg is 20 years old but she is stuck in the body of a toddler. today brooke and her family will be on "katie" to talk about the condition. she opens up to katie couric and how she's cared for and how her family communicates with her and if special way they have -- the special way they have a very special bond. that's at 4:00 right here on abc2. >> that family is incredible from baltimore county. a lot of you wondering

about the weather. not only because the weekend is here but -- some people actually have tailgate parties in their yard when they cannot go to the game. >> we can go out to devlin et and maybe the good -- denver lynette and maybe party out here? >> we're going to show you that in just a moment. you're going to like what i have in the seven day forecast but for right now temperatures aren't that cold this morning. we're looking at the 40s. this should be the high temperature for this time of the year. we're at 40 in perry hall. bel air at 41 and 38 in chestertown this morning. our low for this time of the year should be at 24 and we are well above that. the satellite and radar not picking up on a whole lot here close to home. yes we have some clouds in here but we also have high pressure that's going to build in here throughout the day. we have some showers back off towards the south. with this, this is going to start to slide in here. let me show you exactly what i'm talking about on this next map. as we have high pressure that will build in as who go through the day. with that we will stay cool

once again. temperatures still above average. we can see the mild down to the south. this will move in here gradually in time for the weekend. there's the area of low pressure that's the one that's bringing all the moisture in from the gulf of mexico and that's why that area could be seeing severe weather for today. but nothing like that for us. we are definitely going to stay dry as high pressure does its thing. now we're also going to be dealing with the temperature coming in at 52 degrees today. the high 41. we're going to be well above that. let's get a check now of the abc2 timesaver traffic with lauren cook. good morning. good morning lynette. well, we are off to a very busy start. several accidents. we have trouble in baltimore county where a crash has shut down 83 the northbound lanes right at belfast road. you will want to stick with york road as the alternate route. in housework county a serious crash -- howard county a serious crash right now in ellicott city. maryland 991 closed at backen drive. use 70 and that will be clear from columbia pike all the way over to 695. here's the beltway at baltimore national pike and traffic

moving right along. no problems getting up to 795. and here's what 95 looks like at 395 downtown. you will want to watch out for a disabled car blocking a southbound lane at the fort mchenry tunnel. that's a look at your traffic. megan and charlie, over to you. amends here even the threat of winter weather usually means kids have time off from school but that doesn't mean they get to hang around and watch cartoons. >> the list went out to the irvine nature center in owings mills. it's a fantastic place. they offer funding to programs to get kids out of the house and excited about the environment. >> kids are kind of thinking well now is the time to be inside only. it's actually great time to be outside. now it's a great time to work for the environment. >> now tonight's episode of "the list" disappear into the magic of david london. that's on abc2 beginning at 7:00 and the thing i like most about the nature center? you get to get your hands dirty. >> also have great trails around there. if it is nice which it's going to be you can get outside. >> maybe don't take the kids.

go yourself. >> see how charlie thinks. stay with us this morning because school bus drivers running red lights and speeding. it's a story that we broke first here on abc2. >> yeah joce sterman did that and now city lawmakers are taking action in the hopes of keeping your children safe. today you can get involved and we'll explyou can go this weekend to get some really good meals without having an empty wallet. [ male announcer ] now at your neighborhood subway: the big hot pastrami melt.

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add your favorite ingredients, like spicy jalapeños or crisp green peppers. get to your local subway and taste some perfect pastrami today! subway. eat fresh. thank you for joining us on this thursday morning. it is a story that we first broke here on abc2 that has gained both local and national attention. we're talking about those cameras busting hundreds of local school bus drivers who were speeding and running red lights. >> yeah, coming up because the drivers were contractors they weren't required to inform baltimore county or the city about the citations. there's a little loophole there but thanks to our investigation lawmakers now want to change that. today the education and youth committee of the baltimore city council will convene to hear

the bill on speed and red light camera monitoring. >> now the legislation requires quarterly reports of all tickets issued to yellow school bus drivers serving city students. baltimore city public school officials and transportation officials will be at the hearing today. bus contractors and parents are also invited to share comments and suggestions at that hearing. it's at city hall starting at 4:00 this afternoon. well, some of your kids may already be waking up for school this morning. and some of you just think it's too early. well, today people living in anne arundel county are delivering a petition to the superintendent of schools hoping a later start time. schools in the county start at 7:17. the earliest time in the entire state. and amongst the earliest nationwide. so parents want the schools to start no earlier than 8:00 in the morning. both health and education experts say that research shows starting school that early is not good for adolescents'

mental and physical well-being. news around the nation this morning, photos showing in court right now reveal ago lot more about james holmes. and what he was doing leading up to that theater shooting out in colorado. prosecutors say that just hours before holmes burst into a colorado movie theater opening fire. the accused killer used his iphone to snap self-portraits of himself and the photos showed him wearing black eye contacts, smiling and holding a handgun near his face. in others he was dressed fully in plaque with a bulletproof vest. on friday a judge will rule whether or not holmes will face the trial for the death of 12 people in that shooting. attorneys for convicted wild molester jerry sandusky will be back in court this morning. his legal team is set to start the appeal process and they'll argue they were not given enough time to go through the evidence and information that would have helped them better prepare for the case. he was found guilty on 45

counts last year and he was sentenced to at least 30 years? prison. restaurants in baltimore county will offer some great deals beginning this week. later today, the county will kick off restaurant week at patrick's of cockeysville. it runs from january 11th through the 27th. for the first time tablets are expected to outsell laptops. the tech analysis firm says that tablets will outpace notebook sales by more than 30 million units. the fast expansion has given more brands access to the market making tablets more popular with consumers. for the second time in 40 years, there will be no inductees in the national baseball hall of fame. among those told to get out. barry bonds and seven time cy young winner roger clemens. baseball writers cast their votes and no one got through the 75% threshold that's needed to be inducted. "good morning america" host robin roberts will soon reveal when she's going to return to

work. she's been out since august. roberts is recovering from a bone marrow transplant needed to treat a rare mood disorder. -- blood disorder. robin roberts plans to announce it in the next couple of days. "lincoln," what's your favorite movie coming out of 2012 and the list of oscar come knees will be revealed today byset mcfarland and emma stone. they will be handed out next month. not going to be good movie viewing weather. get outside. >> and make a few memory for your own. santa right lynette? >> the kids are going to be getting out to school this morning so this is how they need to dress. make sure you dress in layers for today. now i'm going to call it chilly this morning because we have a windchill. those winds out of the northwest at about 5 to 10 miles an hour. making it feel a little bit colder. as we go into the afternoon, temperature right around 52 degrees. we will be cool and we will get sol sunshine in here -- some sunshine in here mixing with the clouds as well. here's a check of the seven day forecast for you. we have big plans this week height?

with the tailgating parties on saturday look at that temperature. 60 degrees. 65 on sunday. and as we head into next week, that's when things change. we will begin to see more rain in the forecast. let's get a check now of the abc2 timesaver traffic with lauren cook. good morning. good morning lynette. unfortunately we are dealing with a very serious crash right now in howard county. it's in ellicott city. and it has shut down old frederick road at backen drive. stick with interstate 70 as the alternate route. and as we take a live look at 70 here at columbia pike, not too many cars out there on the road. you won't have any problems heading west out to frederick or east to 695. more problems on 83 where we are dealing with an accident along the northbound lanes ad belfast road -- at belfast road. it will be reduces to just one lane northbound. so you can always stick with york road if the delays do tend to get even worse than they already are. as we take a look at the abc2 timesaver traffic drive times no problems to report on the jfx. heading downtown. and 695 nice and clear just 11 minutes on the outer loop from 95 all the way up to 83.

and you're looking at an 11 minute ride as well traveling the outer loop from 795 all the way down to 95. megan and charlie, over to you. four minutes away from 5:00 right now. they said they didn't have anyone available to attend vice president biden's meeting on gun control. >> wal-mart now changes their tune on that. >> also ahead this morning the most prized possession was smashed at a luggage pickup area. we're going to tell what you the airline has agreed to do for one very disappointed passenger.

well, time is running out for a pack of killer whales trapped by ice in canada. part of the hudson bay froze over forcing the animals to share a small opening in the ice as a breathing hole. look at this video. ideally an ice breaker would clear a path for the whales but officials say the nearest crew is too far away.

the government is sending, perts to the scene today to see where the orcas can be saved. right now, what's black and white and pretty much cute all over? the newest member at the san diego zoo. take a look. this little panda cub is making its big debut today in its exhibit. he was born back in july and weighs 16 pounds. the cub has been with his mom spending most of their time together in their birthing den and now, getting to enjoy the outdoors more. he is the sixth panda born at the san diego zoo making it the most successful breeding program outside of china. you have to see charlie right now. he is dying to make an anchorman joke. this next story has me so upset. now for some news that some might call good or bad, we're talking about boardwalks on northeast destroyed by hurricane sandy. >> all right, "good morning maryland" at 5:00 beginnings right now. something else going on with the boardwalk. got her all kinds of fired up. let's get to the 5:00 hour.